The Murdochs have received a major endorsement from shareholder advisory group ISS, after it recommended investors vote to re-elect News Corp's board of directors at its annual meeting.

The move is a reversal for ISS – Institutional Shareholder Services – one of the most influential shareholder advisory firms in the US, which last year was highly critical of News Corporation in its advice to investors ahead of the company's annual general meeting.

It comes after a number of investors and advisory firms joined an action on Wednesday launched by dissident shareholders seeking to break Murdoch control of News Corp. The campaign includes Hermes, a British fund manager that controls £2.4bn in assets, and Glass Lewis, which advises institutions holding $15tn (£9.6tn) worth of investments. Glass Lewis took the same stance in 2011.

The resolution was co-filed by Christian Brothers Investment Services and members of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum.

The shareholder dissent is largely symbolic, since the Murdochs control about 40% of the company's voting shares.

News Corp's annual meeting is scheduled for 16 October. The ISS report said shareholders should vote for the current directors and expect to see independent action from the board to address any findings, allegations or penalties against the company when the phone hacking investigations conclude.

ISS, which advises more than 1,700 clients on corporate governance issues, said last year the phone-hacking revelations at News of the World exposed a "striking lack of stewardship" and it called on shareholders to vote against the re-election of nearly all of the media group's board, including Rupert Murdoch and his sons James and Lachlan.